Tomatoes Fribourg style

Tomatoes came into European cooking -and Swiss cooking- in the 16th century, after Christopher Columbus brought the plants back from his travels to South America. Tomatoes are not the only unknown delicacy Columbus brought back, there are also corn, squashes, peppers –chili peppers have spread over the world- and also vanilla and chocolat.

Tomatoes Fribourg style recipe

This recipe comes from the canton of Fribourg, where tomatoes are stuffed with Gruyere cheese and potatoes. To prepare tomatoes as in the canton of Valais, the stuffing should be seasoned raw eggs.

Ingredients

Servings: 4

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Scoop out most of the flesh from each tomato half, discarding discard liquid and seeds. Sprinkle the flesh with 1 teaspoon brown sugar.
3. Mix cup grated cheese with mashed potatoes, onion, and season with pepper. Stuff each tomato with equal amounts.
4. Place tomatoes into a buttered, shallow ovenproof pan and dot each with a little butter. sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.

Cooking Tips

• Waste not, want not. Use the scooped out tomato in this Swiss poached perch recipe. Serve the tomatoes as a side to the perch and there are not leftovers.
• Why sugar? Tomatoes are acid and a little sugar makes their taste more palatable.
• It is perfectly all right to use leftover mashed potatoes. If in a hurry, use prepared instant mash.
• When seasoning the filling, remember the potato mash already has already been seasoned and the cheese is savory. There would not be any need for extra salt, and only a dash of pepper should be required.
• Substitute butter with margarine or cooking oil spray, if you wish.

Recipe type

Vegetables, spring, autumn, side dish, gluten free